Ky Kiske
Ky Kiske (カイ＝キスク, Kai Kisuku) is a playable character in the ''Guilty Gear'' franchise. As one of the two leading characters (the other being Sol Badguy), he is one of the most well known characters, and has been an integral part of the series since the first Guilty Gear. He is a very charismatic young man who possesses a strong sense of justice and a devout religiosity, which sustain and guide him through all manner of shaking uncertainties. Character Design Ky is a handsome young man with blond hair and blue eyes. His hair has grown in the timeline of the series, to the point where he sports it as a ponytail in Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-''. His usual outfit is a loosely-fitting, blue base version of the white dime-a-dozen Sacred Order of Holy Knights (aka, the Holy Order) Uniform, fastened together by a white belt buckle is inscribed with the word "HOPE". Gallery [[Ky Kiske/Image Gallery|'Ky Kiske's Image Gallery']] Personality Ky is a deeply religious man, the adjective describing both his devotion to God, as well as his commitment to the ideals of law, order, and honor. He is diligent and scrupulous. However, despite his great faith and strong conviction, he is not beyond doubt, and is not entirely incapable of seeing the colors between black and white. Loyal to his ideas more than his surroundings, Ky will not hesitate to investigate his superiors if he believes them to be undermining his conceptions of justice. He is a compassionate man and chivalrous in the classical way, being known to hold back against female opponents if he is forced to fight them. Though his strong beliefs tend to color his moral world black and white, his experiences have developed his character beyond this caricature. In his ''Overture profile, it is stated that his position as a king made him lose some of his zeal, but he gains a new perspective over things in its place. Story Background Ky Kiske was appointed as the captain of the International Police Force (IPF) not long after the end of the Crusades. Charismatic and highly talented with both swords and magic, he was the former commander of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights (Seikishidan) during the Holy War (2074-2175 AD) that was fought between mankind and the Gears (the latter under the leadership of Commander Gear Justice). Orphaned at a young age during the war, he met the then-commander of the Sacred Order, Kliff Undersn. Afterward, Ky was told to come back after five years of training to see him again if he really wanted to fight. Five years passed, and Ky returned, ready to do battle. A year passed and due to the retirement of Kliff, 16-year-old Ky Kiske was recognized for his talent and named the new chief of the Sacred Order. With the appointment, he was given the Thunderseal, a weapon that allowed the wielder to manipulate the difficult element of lightning, and one of the Sacred Order's holiest treasures. Soon after his appointment, he led the Knights to victory, and ended the 100-year genocidal war. The Order was disbanded after the Holy War ended. Five years later, Ky entered the IPF. He was soon promoted to rank of captain. However, he is considered easily controllable, and is manipulated by higher powers who were unseen players from the Holy War. ''Guilty Gear'' After Ky hears rumors of bloodshed, huge prizes, and the possible resurrection of Justice, Ky Kiske enters a tournament that will select members for a second Sacred Order of Holy Knights. ''Guilty Gear X'' After hearing Justice's last words at the conclusion of the tournament, Ky hears new rumors, these ones of a new Commander Gear that doesn't wish to harm humans. He sets out to find the truth in Justice's final words and the flaws within his own concept of justice. ''Guilty Gear XX'' After rescuing a beaten Commander Gear Dizzy and entrusting her to Johnny's care, Ky returns to his normal duties as a captain of the IPF. As soon as he is returned to work, Ky Kiske is thrust into a new conspiracy which includes robot clones of himself, a secret organization, a woman in red named I-No, and his bitter rival, Sol Badguy. ''Guilty Gear XX Λccent Core Plus'' Ky investigates the Post-War Administration Bureau and fights its minions, ultimately separating from the police but continuing his labor as a banner of justice. He later helps out Dizzy control her power, and protects her. The two grow close to one another, marking the beginning of their romantic relationship. Depending on if players defeated Dizzy with an Instant Kill or not, Ky will either look after Dizzy, leading into his Path 1 ending, or he will leave Dizzy in Johnny and May's care again before going his own way (Path 2). ''Overture Short Stories'' Ky Kiske fell in love with Dizzy and after some time they began to live together. Because of the lack of official records and her concealed identity, they cannot get married officially, and this brought guilt to Ky as he found it immoral. Her pregnancy gave him happiness, but brought him turmoil as well, as he knew his child would have the blood of a Gear. Ky was invited to a meeting by the United Nations; in said meeting, he was told that he must participate in the upcoming elections and serve as a puppet king. When he declined their offer, he was told that they knew about his wife. After six months, Ky showed a six-month old Sin, who was physically four, to Sol. Frustrated and irritated at the situation Ky got himself into, Sol charged at him and a fight broke between them. As the fight dragged on, Ky was losing (as he always did when facing his rival) and when Sol was about to deal the finishing blow, Sin grabbed Sol's leg and asked him to stop. Ky was moved to tears at his son's actions. Later on, Ky and his wife entrusted Sin's care to Sol in order to keep him safe. ''Guilty Gear 2: Overture'' Ky has assumed the position of king, reigning over the land of Illyria, now armed with the sword Aquila, as he is keeping his lover sealed with the use of the Thunderseal's power. Having grown much more mature and composed over the years, his rivalry and animosity towards Sol has diminished entirely, having entrusted to him his part-Gear son, Sin. Ky is shown at constant conflict towards his own ineptitude of being a father and a husband, due to the racial issues regarding Gears. His relation with his son Sin is not quite close as well, as Sin is shown calling his father a "shitty king". In the aftermath, once Sol returns after Valentine's demise in Backyard, Ky let his son Sin do what the "hell" he wants after Sin decided to stay Illyria until his mother is freed from the time freeze, and then catches up with Sol. ''Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-'' Ky decides to plan an assault against Ramlethal Valentine. However, even after Ky agreed to his ridiculous bounty demand, Sol went ahead by himself, making the situation even more difficult, as his hands are already full from being the king and dealing with Senato's spies and allies. Later, he requests Leo Whitefang's approval as the second king of Illyria to release Elphelt Valentine in order to subdue Ramlethal. Despite Leo's denial, Ky still set Elphelt free. Thanks to her help, he, Sol and Sin managed to apprehend Ramlethal and take her into custody. Even though he is finally able to see his "wife" again and proud that his son finally called him "dad", the new threat caused by Senato's plan to activate Justice cuts all celebrations short. As the resurrection process began to activate Justice a member of the Senato, Axus, ambushes Ky and shoots him several times, leaving him for dead. Ky somehow gets to his feet much to Axus' surprise. Ky finishes off Axus, but not before the latter can notice his singular crimson eye, the mark of a Gear. In the final chapter, he carries an unconscious Dizzy to the remnants of the site of Justice's destruction, followed by Sin and Paradigm. He soon reunites with Sol and Leo who calls out to everyone, warning them of Elphelt's state of mind. Elphelt, having re-awakened to her mission of the activation of Justice and the monitoring of Sol, begins to attack Sol. Ky can do nothing but watch as Sol forces Elphelt's former emotions to surface right before her and Justice's subsequent recalling to the Backyard by "Mother". Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-'' Ky along with his son, Sin and his rival Sol ambushes St. Maximus when she attempts to use Elphelt to fuse with Justice. The combining three are no match against her until the pillar where Justice is standing is about to collapse. Ky decides to get through the pillar while Sol tries to hold her off and goes there to stop the pillar from collapsing as his left eye glowed in red to keep it at bay. After St. Maximus was defeated from the power of St. Oratorio by hitting on her back, he and Sin are teleported by Daryl to safety after he refuses Leo's offer to destroy Justice. However, Ky and Sin become horrified to watch helplessly to see Sol to be killed in the blast. But Sol was still alive thanks to Axl's power to compress time which allows him to activate his Dragon Install to fuse both Jack-O Valentine and Justice to keep it at bay before being blasted by its power. Both Ky and Sin are later relieved to see Sol was alive while carrying an unconcious Jack-O in nude before she transforms into a new version of Aria and seeing that their world is safe again. Gameplay Ky is a simple yet versatile character with long range normals and a variety of attacks in the "shoutouclone" manner. He can rapidly switch between keeping the opponent away and turning on the offense, and has a number of very useful FRCs for this purpose, tight execution is needed for this type of dual-combat feat style, but Ky is a simple enough character to pick up. In particular, '''Charge Stun Edge' (236H in older games, 236D as of Slash) is an exceptional pressure tool when used after a knockdown, allowing Ky to attack without fear of retaliation and repeat it if he succeeds, along with some of his other new tools gained in later games, Ky also excels at zoning and getting a combo off of many other hit confirms. However, he has one big disadvantage: his damage output is unusually low; whereas most characters can hit 60% damage quite easily with little or no Tension, Ky has trouble breaking 30% even with his stronger attacks. This means that a Ky player typically has to play better for longer each round and can't rely on cheap tricks, and often has to work to press up his pressure strings due to some gaps foes might find. Because of his simplicity and reliance on fighting game fundamentals, Ky is an excellent choice for beginners. In Xrd however, Ky eventually gains a unique zoning mechanic in the form of Grinders; floating markers set down by certain moves such as a few of his specials and Dust attacks which can power-up his Stun Edges with an ability called Durandal Call whenever the said projectiles are fired through them. Durandal Call causes his normal Stun Edges to be fired as brief lightning beams shaped like swords, while his Charge Stun Edge is fired as a more delayed beam with more hits. Sacred Edge on the other hand increases in both size and hits. While this increases his zoning and wake-up offense (AKA okizeme) potential, it also makes him more position reliant than ever. Command List Ky Kiske's Command List}} Powers & Abilities Ky Kiske is an extremely talented strategist, swordsman, and magic practitioner. In the novel Lightning the Argent, it is revealed that his ability to create lightning projectiles from his sword Thunderseal is extraordinarily difficult, as lightning is the most difficult magic to control, a testament to his mastery of the weapon. It is also said that he is well adept at performing other forms of elemental magic, though he prefers to use lightning. In ''Guilty Gear Vastedge XT'', it is also revealed that he is an expert marksman, as he is seen wielding a lightning-charged gunblade. Ironically in Xrd, his left eye becomes red, with a Gear symbol inscribed on the iris. When utilizing this power, it vastly increases his strength, speed, durability and magic to supernatural levels. He can regenerate fatal wounds in mere seconds and using raw strength in this state, He was able to prevent the titanic Justice from falling from the sky - as well as the small island of stone she rested on -. His lightning magic also intensifies greatly and takes on a violet hue. However, he can only maintain this state for short intervals and it seems to cause pain afterwards, possibly due to Ky still being a human prior. Ky has also discovered that one of Thunderseal's hidden abilities is to isolate a person or object within a selective space where time has stopped. However, Ky discovered this power out of desperation to save Dizzy from sublimation and does not know how he performed such a feat. Themes Musical Themes *'Holy Orders (Be Just Or Be Dead)' - Guilty Gear * Holy Orders (Be Just Or Be Dead) II - Guilty Gear X and Guilty Gear XX * Pillars of the Underworld - Guilty Gear XX: ♯Reload Korean OST * Holy Orders (Be Just Or Be Dead) III - Guilty Gear 2 * Sheep Will Sleep (If You Become Fatigued) - Guilty Gear Isuka * Magnolia Éclair ''' - ''Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-'' Rivalry Themes * '''Conclusion (vs. Sol) - Guilty Gear * No Mercy (vs. Sol) - Guilty Gear X and Guilty Gear XX * Noontide (vs. Sol)- Guilty Gear XX * Revelations (vs. Sol) - Guilty Gear XX: ♯Reload Korean OST * Faith Shall Save Thee (EX vs EX Sol) - Guilty Gear XX: ♯Reload Korean OST * Keep the Flag Flying (vs. Order Sol) - Guilty Gear XX: AC * Re-Coming (vs. Sol) - Guilty Gear 2 * Reunion (vs. Sol) - Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-'' * '''Communication' (vs. Sin) - Guilty Gear 2 ''and ''Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-'' Character Quotes ''See: [[Ky Kiske/Quotes|'Ky Kiske's Quotes']] Ky Kiske's quotes reflect his respectful personality with and his sense of authority as a man of the law. They don't fall short of praises towards his opponents even if he's very competitive. References and Allusions *Ky owes his name to the two musicians of Germany's Power Metal scene - Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen, former Helloween members. *Ky shares his birthday (November 20) with several musicians, such as Oliver Sykes from Bring Me the Horizon, among others. *Ky's theme name - Holy Orders (Be Just or Be Dead) - probably origins from Iron Maiden's song "Be Quick or Be Dead". *Ky's overdrive is named Ride the Lightning, and one of Metallica's albums has the same name. *Ky's Instant Kill is named Rising Force— an allusion to the Swedish rocker Yngwie J. Malmsteen's former band of the same name. *Rhapsody, a band that is quite popular in Japan, has a song named "Holy Thunderforce", which could be another description of him. *Ky's 6th theme "Magnolia Éclair" Is very clearly a homage to the song "Hellion/Electric Eye" by Judas Priest. *The "HOPE" inscription on his belt is probably taken from a lyric in the Iron Maiden Song "Revelations": :Bind all of us together Ablaze with '''hope and free', No storm or heavy weather Will rock the boat you'll see.'' Trivia *Ky appears as a guest character in Square Enix's upcoming game, Lord of Vermilion III. *Ky's exact age is never revealed, but various hints can determine the range. He's at least 21 years old in the first game and at least 26 in Overture. *Ky was wearing an eye-patch like Sin in his short story, though on his left eye instead of his right. The significance of this is unknown, but in Xrd, he has a sigil in his left eye which is similar to a Gear's Mark. It is believed that he may have participated in an experiment to acquire these qualities. *Ky has more themes than any other character; he shares six songs with Sol, one with Order-Sol and one with his own son, Sin, making a total of eight rivalry songs. *One of Ky's shouts during battle is "kokoda", meaning "here it is". Because of the lack of English dub and translation, however, players always mishear this as "coconuts". **Besides "coconuts," players always make fun of Ky's phrase in the Guilty Gear X anime trailer: "Oh no! I'm falling!" *During Ky's Instant Kill (Rising Force), a figure of a woman can be seen curled into the ball of lightning, and then would fly along the projectile. Her nature is unknown, though it is hinted that she is connected to the Thunderseal. *Ky can be seen once in a black outfit in one of the early drafting books. *Takeshi Kusao, Ky's voice actor, is known for voicing heroic young men using swords. His english voice actor, Sam Riegel and Liam O'Brien, also play the roles of Shirou Emiya and Archer from Fate/Stay Night, two protagonists who were obsessed with becoming heroes of Justice(though Archer lost his sense of altruism to bitterness when he found that his ideal of justice betrayed him). *In Xrd, if he were to be knocked down during his opponent's match point, his hair will become loose and his original theme, Holy Orders, will begin to play. *It is revealed in Xrd that no matter the times he cuts his hair, it keeps growing at a rapid pace, thus leading to the belief that he also has Gear cells like Dizzy and his son who both share the same trait. As Sin is considered a Quarter-Gear, this means that this development did not occur until sometime after Sin's birth. *In the final chapter of Xrd, Ky's left eye had changed to red when he is desperate to stop the pillar from collapsing making him to have heterochromia. However, in the next part of the chapter it reverts back to normal after usage when he and Sin are teleported by Daryl. *Ky appears alongside Sol Badguy, Jam Kuradoberi, and Ramlethal Valentine in the mobile game, Seven Knights. Ky starts off his appearance in Xrd -SIGN- and Xrd -REVELATOR- default outfit. Upon reaching five stars, his default outfit becomes red and black and his hair is white and reaching maximum of six stars, Ky's default outfit is now in a different shades of blue and maintains his original blond hair. External Links *Dustloop Forums - Ky Basic FAQ *Dustloop Forums - Accent Core Info and Combos Thread *Mizuumi's GG Wiki - Ky Kiske References ... Navigation Category:Guilty Gear Characters Category:Humans Category:Males Category:Holy Knights Category:Playable Characters Category:Allied Kingdom of Illyria Category:Masters Category:Guilty Gear 2 Characters Category:Guilty Gear Xrd Characters Category:Heroes